New Ulm weekly review., 1887-04-27
A. Sleighride Fifty Years Ago.

Mrs. Harris, or Widow Harris, as
she was usually called, lived in the
outskirts OF the village Of Bin little
low, wood-colored ..iouse. Since the
death OF her husband, which occurred
soon after they had come to this place
to live, she had supported herself by
going around among families of the
town as nurse, seamstress, or to as
sist at weddings, parties and funerals.
This itinerant sort Of life had given
her an opportunity to become ac-
quainted with much OF the family his
tory OF the people OF B.. She could
give the exact date of most of the
births, marriages and deaths that oc-
Cured in the town within the last
twenty years. But now she was too
old to go about in this way, and was
glad to get work to do at home, and
was usually busy making rugs or
weaving carpets.
The widow was sitting by Che fire,
one pleasant winter day, knitting on
a red mitten, when there came a rap
at her door. Hastening to open it,
she found a pretty girl waiting for ad-
mission.
"Come right in, Helen" she said, "I
am proper glad to see you. Now you
must take your things right off, she
continued, as Helen Weston stepped
into the kitchen, 'for you have come
after Wellie's mittens and they ain t
quite done.'
Eyes" said Helen, ''mother asked
me to come and get the mittens. She
thought they would be finished" !"
We'll, Ishould have had them done,
but Mrs. Brown sent in last night for
me to make her some cough syrup.
She's got an awful cough, and l spent
all the evening fusslng with it, but
can finish them in an hour
ooh, ! don't mind waiting" said
Helen, seating herself IN nice, old
fashioned rocking chair by the fire,
while Tim, the great tortoiseshell cat,
purred out his content on the rug at
her feet.
The widow Harris was favorite
with the young people of the village.
They enjoyed going to see her, and
they were sure to be treated to a
lunch of election cake, seed cakes,
or long, spicy, twisted doughnuts.
But best of all wereher stories. Such
nice old. fashioned stories about we'd
dings, huskings, apple bees, and all
kinds OF country frolics.
After Helen had answered Mrs. Har-
ris' inquiries, as far as she knew, in
regard to the health and general news
OF the village, she said, tsNow, Mrs.
Harris, please tell me one of your nice
stories.
"Bless your heart, dear, seems to
me | have told you all the stories /
know"
20. | am sure you haven't, if you
will only think"
We'll, / made some election cake
this morning, and while you are eat
ing some | will see what | can think
of to tell you," and Mrs. Harris went
into the pantry, returning with a plate
OF cake, which she placed on the stani
near Helen, telling her to help herself.
s.Let me see-I have told you about
Mary Goodwin's wedding, and Mrs.
Wells se-warming, haven't I?n
said Mrs. Harris, as she took up her
knitting again.
Yes you told me those stories when
was here one day last summer
II guess I shall have to tell you
about the sleighride we had over in
Chester, when was q girl. / was
thinking about it this morning. It
happened more than fifty years ago,
but / remember about it just as if it
was last week. =
THE young folks in the village had
been planning ever since snow came to
have sleighride down to Morse's tav-
ern, that was about ten miles from
Chester, and have supper and dance.
The time was set to go about the mid
die of january, when there would be
full moon.
We girls had q great time fixing up
something to wear, but, dear me, We
did not have things as girls do now.
There were not many Of us who had
anything better than homespun, with
out it was Nancy Holmes. She had
sen1e money. She was an orphan.
When her folks died she came to Ches-
ter to live with her cousin, Squire
Bassett, who was her guardian. She
had two boughten calico gowns, and
q beautiful green Canton Grape, and a
beaver bonnet with a long plume on it.
Squire Bassett was the richest
man in town. He lived in a great.
tWo-story house, painted white, and
such q beautiful garden, tulI OF roses
and peonies, holly yhocks and pinks,
and there were currant and goose
berry bushes, and all kinds of herbs,
parsley, caraway, coriander, sage,
and summer saVory, and q great or
chard stretched away up the hill back
OF the house. It was fixe1 up nice In
side the house, too, for those days.
The parlor walls were stained yellow,
with 3 border OF flowers done with